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Any experience with Hoppe's Boresnake in .257 ?
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Picture of JBrown
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I'm wondering if anyone else has used a Boresnake in a .257. I would like to know how it worked for you.


I have a 30cal boresnake and it works fine for clearing oil from the bore before we head out hunting.

I purchased one for my daughters 257 Roberts and used it for the first time yesterday when we returned from hunting.

As soon as it entered the throat there was major resistance. I was worried that the pull cord would break but I saw no option but to continue polling it through. It made it out of the bore but it still took effort even after the brush was clear of the bore.

I looked at the label on the boresnake itself to make sure that it had not been mispackaged. It was marked ".257,6.5mm,.264"

I measured the brush and it is .264 at the tips of the bristles.

I would guess that this one takes 5 times the force to pull through the bore as my 30 cal does.

I won't be using this one again.

I'm wondering what experiences the rest of you have had.


Jason

"You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core."
_______________________

Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt.

Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry
Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.

-Jason Brown
 
Posts: 6834 | Location: Nome, Alaska(formerly SW Wyoming) | Registered: 22 December 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of Use Enough Gun
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Some of those multi-caliber boresnakes are like that. I have a few that are tight and takes effort to get through. Big Grin
 
Posts: 18517 | Registered: 04 April 2005Reply With Quote
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I like the boresnake, one pass equals 180 patches, and Im sure of one thing more bores are ruined with cleaning rods than anything else..I use boresnakes all year around, and give my guns a good Wipe Out cleaning maybe twice a year with a steel one piece rod and guide..I know they work, take one on a P dog hunt where you shoot hundreds of rounds a day, that will make a believer out of you...

the first pass thru with a new boresnake takes some effort, then the brush bends to fit...I don't mind one being tight cleans better that way, Ive use a 416 brush in a 375 and had to wrap the cord around a screw driver or whatever. In many years Ive never broke a boresnake..That said some folks can destory a 150 lb anvil with a powder puff...I keep then clean (washed) and inspect them often..to wash them I put all of them in a sock and toss them in the washing machine.


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41755 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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I used a boresnake on my .257 Roberts, kept it in myt range bag for cleaning immediately after fireing. Never had any trouble in more than 10 yrs. of use.
 
Posts: 376 | Location: Indiana | Registered: 22 November 2015Reply With Quote
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Yep the boresnake is a wonderful invention, those that condem it seem to speak with forked tongue and make up Fairey tales of broken snakes, I don't see how you could break one other than some sort of abuse by a abuser! rotflmo


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41755 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
Yep the boresnake is a wonderful invention, those that condem it seem to speak with forked toung and make up fairey tales of broken snakes, I don't see how you could break one other than some sort of abuse by an abuser! rotflmo


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41755 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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Broken boresnakes are usually the result of using the wrong size and then trying to reverse once it's found to be too tight.
 
Posts: 376 | Location: Indiana | Registered: 22 November 2015Reply With Quote
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When you use different solvents, don't you have to have a Boresnake for each chemical?
 
Posts: 58 | Registered: 06 March 2018Reply With Quote
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I don;t, but Im not that keen on all these products, Its a consumer rip off..I use whatever is handy and the one that works..Soap and scalding hot water is best, but its a lot of trouble..I wash the bore snake from time to time.


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41755 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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I’ve used bore snakes, and while I find them useful, they are no panacea.

In this specific case, yes, I have used one in a .25-06. It took a lot of effort the first couple of uses, but got easier as it was used.

I have typically wetted the tail of the thing with a little CLP or oil for the last pass through prior to going home.

They do a pretty good job getting rid of unburned powder and carbon. They will clear water and dust.

They don’t do much for metal fouling.

At least by my use with a bore scope.

I think their best use is while hunting to keep the bore clean. I don’t think they replace the thorough cleaning that you do with a rod and good solvents, but are easy to use and don’t damage the bore when used properly.
 
Posts: 10478 | Location: Minnesota USA | Registered: 15 June 2007Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by crbutler:
I’ve used bore snakes, and while I find them useful, they are no panacea.



I think their best use is while hunting to keep the bore clean. I don’t think they replace the thorough cleaning that you do with a rod and good solvents, but are easy to use and don’t damage the bore when used properly.


This is my approach to them. They do a good enough job in pinch to keep things where they need to be.

If the story I was told is true, boresnakes started in a garage in Nampa(?) idaho where a guy buried a Hoppes bore brush in a nylon tube (like they still do). He tried to sell the idea but the only taker was the Mexican military. Only after the mExican military put in a big order did Hoppes (Michaels of Oregon) buy them outright.
 
Posts: 7763 | Registered: 31 January 2005Reply With Quote
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I think they're best for shotguns used in high volume shooting. Think doves in Argentina.

I have never felt the need to clean a rifle barrel in the hunting field. A strip of electrician's tape over the muzzle keeps the bore free from obstructions.

But 500-1500 rounds or more of shotgun shells shot in one morning or afternoon will dirty up a smoothbore, including with plastic rubbed off from shot cups.

A bore snake in such circumstances will turn a streaky, dirty smoothbore into a shiny one with one or two pulls through from breech to muzzle.

Not as good as a thorough cleaning, but good enough.


Mike

Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer.
 
Posts: 13321 | Location: New England | Registered: 06 June 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of Bill/Oregon
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I saw them put to hard and apparently effective use by some Cowboy Action Shooters who were the serious gamers -- the guys who came to win and beat their own best times. One of the best shooters at the club had one for his sixguns, one for his 12-gauge Model 97 and one for his levergun. He was shooting real black powder and it was amazing how fast he could break his guns down and clean them before even leaving the range. Think his juice of choice was Balistol.
I should have taken notes.


There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.
– John Green, author
 
Posts: 16299 | Location: Sweetwater, TX | Registered: 03 June 2000Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I saw them put to hard and apparently effective use by some Cowboy Action Shooters who were the serious gamers -- the guys who came to win and beat their own best times. One of the best shooters at the club had one for his sixguns, one for his 12-gauge Model 97 and one for his levergun. He was shooting real black powder and it was amazing how fast he could break his guns down and clean them before even leaving the range. Think his juice of choice was Balistol.
I should have taken notes.


That would be a great use for a bore snake.


Mike

Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer.
 
Posts: 13321 | Location: New England | Registered: 06 June 2003Reply With Quote
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About the time our business moved overseas I found a shop that had 4 dumpsters that were full of material that was going to be hauled to the dump. The cloth material that was being thrown away was good enough for making patches, the other stuff required some thinking on my part. It took me all of 20 minutes before I decided I could use most of the material for bore snake like cleaners. I thought the material was great, I could not stick it or lock it up in the barrel and it was adjustable, and it was washable.

I did not tell my wife what it was but I did ask her how they made it, she said had she she been made aware I needed material in that configuration, she could have purchased it or we could simply have made it.

Anyhow, it beats trying to use John Wayne cleaning patches.

F. Guffey
 
Posts: 453 | Location: Dallas, Texas | Registered: 16 February 2010Reply With Quote
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I never clean a barrel during hunting season or on a big game hunt, don't use a bore snake often, depending on the circumstances, but most of my hunting is in arid dry climates..I would be sure and oil a bore followed by a dry patch hunting in humid climes. Ive never rusted a bore in my lifetime..Ive seen some misses with folks that are oil friendly, Keep in mind there has never been a animal killed with clean bore!


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41755 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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